Fred VanVleet scored 29 points (21 on 7 3-pointers), and the defending champion Toronto Raptors went on a 20-6 run in the third quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-112.
The Timberwolves led 65-61 with 11:30 left in the third quarter. Kyle Lowry’s 3-pointer put the Raptors ahead for good with 10:41 left in the quarter. He scored 9 points during the run, and they led 81-71 with 4:36 left in the quarter and by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves got within 91-89 on Jarrett Culver’s three-point play with 11:03 to play, but Rondae Hollis-Jefferson answered with a putback, and the Timberwolves got no closer.
Lowry scored 28 points with 5 3-pointers, and Norman Powell added 20 points (9 in the fourth quarter) off the bench. The Raptors had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Timberwolves, Culver scored a career-high 26 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns went 1 for 7 from 3. Robert Covington had 22 points and 8 rebounds.
The Raptors shot 51.6% from the field and 37.1% from 3 to the Timberwolves’ 40.4% and 28.0%. They outscored the Timberwolves 26-14 off turnovers. The Raptors outscored the Timberwolves 29-17 in 8 minutes with Ibaka, Hollis-Jefferson, Powell, McCaw and VanVleet on the floor together.